This cartoon by Adams from The Telegraph combines the loss of Britain's AAA credit rating and tonight's Oscar awards.
In the cartoon the word 'Hollywood' in the Hollywood sign has been replaced by the words 'Plan AAA'. The first 'A' of the 'AAA' has fallen on UK Chancellor George Osborne, who is seeing stars (not movie stars!)
EXPLANATION
The title of the cartoon "And the loser is ..." is a play on the usual formula for announcing the Oscar winners: "And the winner is ...". Osborne is seen as a loser because he has staked his reputation on preserving the triple-A ever since the Tories promised "to safeguard Britain’s credit rating" in their 2010 election manifesto. Despite concern about weak growth and rising debt, the government has stuck with its so-called Plan A, which focuses on reducing the deficit through austerity measures. The Chancellor has argued that retaining the AAA rating meant that the Coalition’s economic plans enjoyed the confidence of the financial markets. Its loss therefore represents a serious blow to his economic policy.
